Armor-Clad (AC) Cable: AC cable includes THHN-insulated conductors with 16-gauge aluminum bond wire placed inside the armor to act as a grounding conductor.
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Automotive Cable: This is a general-purpose thermoplastic (GPT) wire, also referred to as primary wire. Normal applications are within motor vehicles with limited exposure to fluids, physical wear and abuse.
Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) Cable: BNC cables are small, quick-connect/disconnect radio frequency connectors used for coaxial cables.
Category Cable: This is used for systems and data networking systems. Cat 5e is the most common variety of category cable that’s used for computer networking on internet service installations. The conductor pairs are twisted together to prevent cross-talk and interference from other paired conductors in the cable, as well as external interference. The higher the megahertz (MHz) capability, the more twists per foot.
Coaxial Cable: This is a metallic cable that carries television and video signals. It connects to video equipment and features a central conductor with a dielectric insulator, metallic shield and plastic jacket.
Doorbell Wire: Doorbell wire is used to connect a wired doorbell or video doorbell to a home’s electrical system. 18-gauge wire is the variety most often used.
Dual Armored Cable: This is a durable cable that offers protection without employing electrical conduit, elbows, offsets (which can be expensive) or conduit couplings. For areas where the cable may be exposed to moisture, metal-clad armor prevents corrosion.
Flexible Cord: Typically used for industrial machinery, washing machines and large appliances, portable tools, equipment, and extension or power cords, flexible/power cord has its own naming convention based on a letter code, with a common option being SJEOOW.
Lamp Cord: Used with lamps, small appliances, radios and other similar products that don’t exceed 300 volts, lamp cord is available between 18- and 12-gauge sizes in a variety of colors.
Landscape Lighting Low-Voltage (LV) Cable: This underground cable is suitable for outdoor accent lighting, landscape lighting and security lighting. Applications shouldn’t exceed 150 volts. It’s used for direct burial, is suitable for sunlight and is available between 16- and 8-gauge sizes.
Metal-Clad (MC) Cable: MC cable is used heavily in commercial electrical work, for running through concrete or in other commercial environments. Individual THHN wire conductors are run through an aluminum interlocked armor. It includes a grounding wire.
Mobile Home Feeder: This connects a mobile home to a supply of electricity where permanent wiring is required, and it’s suitable for direct burial and underground service entrance cable. It includes four RHH or RHW-2 conductors, with a white stripe for neutral and a green ground conductor. It’s sunlight-resistant.
Network and Data Cable: This comes in three types — fiber-optic, twisted-pair and coaxial cable — and is used to connect multiple networking devices or computers in a network.
NM-B: This is a non-metallic sheathed cable that’s used as a residential building wire for branch circuits for outlets, lighting and other residential applications. NM-B is available between 14 AWG and 6 AWG with two or three conductors.
Preassembled Whips: These are pre-cut lengths of armored cable designed to increase jobsite productivity. Assembly comes with pre-stripped THHN conductors and pre-installed zinc die-cast, snap-in fittings.
Residential Grounding Wire: This is bare copper wire that’s available in 4-, 6- and 8-gauge solid and stranded construction. It’s used to ground the residential electrical system, usually at the meter before it enters the dwelling. It’s also used for grounding the perimeter surface around pools.
Service Entrance Cable: This includes individual conductors rated XHHW-2 or THHN/THWN and feeds power from a main breaker to a subpanel. It can be exposed to direct sunlight and used in wet or dry locations.
Speaker Wire: Made of copper and designed to transport a low-voltage electrical current, speaker wire has a variety of wiring uses, including doorbells, thermostats, home security sensors, landscape lighting and other low-current systems.
Sprinkler Wire: Multi-conductor sprinkler wire is suitable for direct burial on applications up to 30 volts. It’s used in central controls for underground sprinkler systems and is available in 18-gauge construction with up to 25 conductors.
Submersible Pump Cable: This includes THWN copper conductors that are heat-, moisture-, oil- and gasoline-resistant. It’s suitable for temperatures below 75 degrees Celsius with two or three conductors. It’s used for power and circuits for submersible pump systems.
Thermostat Wire: Used in heating and air conditioning systems, along with bell and alarm systems, thermostat wire is available in 20- or 18-gauge sizes with up to 10 conductors.
Underground (UF-B) Wire: A copper wire used for underground purposes, including direct burial, it comes in a gray jacket and can be used for deck lighting, outdoor water features, landscape lighting and air conditioner compressors.
Underground Residential Distribution (URD) Cable: Used for secondary distribution and underground service applications at 600 volts or less, it’s suitable for direct burial or placement in ducts. It’s acceptable in wet locations in triplex or quadruplex. Conductors are stranded, compressed aluminum. The neutral conductor has a yellow, triple-extruded stripe.
When completing an electrical project, it’s important to have the right tools and safety equipment to get the job done. Check out some of the most common tools for an electricians tool box.
Boxes and Covers: These are used to house outlets and adapters for operating lights, ceiling fans, kitchen appliances, etc.
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Circuit Breakers and Fuses: These are two devices for preventing an electrical current from causing damage by overloading or shorting a circuit. Breakers and fuses interrupt the current during an overload or short and are housed in a breaker box or fuse box. Homes built after the s typically use circuit breakers rather than fuses.
Electrical Tape: Used for repairing electrical cords or insulating a wire, electrical tape is typically black. It can be used to identify wires and should be stretched as you apply it for better adherence.
Electrical Testers: Checking a circuit to make sure it isn’t live can be a life-saving decision. An electrical tester will quickly inform you if you’re working with live cables or not.
Outlets and Adapters: When wires are connected to an outlet or adapter, it allows the electrical current to power anything plugged into it, such as a kitchen appliance.
Plugs and Connectors: These are usually run from an appliance or a power cord and are plugged into an outlet on the wall. They allow an appliance to receive power from an outlet.
Wire Connectors: These connect two wires together with a connector: The exposed end of each wire is put into the connector and twisted so that they’re connected. Check out our DIY Basics video: How Do I Connect Two Wires?
Wire/Cable Cutters: This tool is used to cut directly through wire and cable. There are a variety of cutters for different jobs, so check that you’re using the appropriate one, whether you’re cutting through copper wire or a network cable.
Wire Strippers: This device removes the plastic casing to expose the bare wire underneath. Most strippers offer multiple slots for a variety of wire sizes, while some have an adjustment dial to set the correct size. Simply insert a wire into the correct sized slot, twist and pull it through.
These days, every house or apartment is going to have an electrical system of one sort or another. Understanding the basics of these systems will help you evaluate homes and knowledgeably answer questions from prospective buyers.
Electricity typically is generated at a power plant and travels to transformers, which lower the voltage to a level that local distribution systems can handle. From there, electricity travels over local distribution systems to individual homes.
One problem in this method of delivery is that quite a bit of electricity is lost in the process of traveling from the plant to its final destination. An alternative is generating electricity on site by solar electrical systems, wind turbines, or generators.
So what else do you need to know about electric systems? While it’s best to leave the big questions to electricians, these are some basics that you should know.
If the home was recently built, the answer is almost always yes. Most houses today have two 110 volt wires and one neutral wire running into the house from the local distribution system. These wires can run underground or above ground. If there are two 110 volt wires running to the house, then the house has 220 volt service and appliances, such as dryers and air conditioners.
Older houses were usually built with 110 volt service; if the electrical system hasn’t been upgraded, it won’t be possible to use some models of appliances (though alternatives can be found).
It’s possible to upgrade a house from 110- to 220-volt service. How much it costs to upgrade will depend on the particular house and the location. If a buyer is interested in upgrading, an electrician can give an estimate for what the work will entail.
Fuses and circuit breakers are both found in the electrical panel (or sub-panel) of a house. They both serve the purpose of cutting the flow of electricity when a circuit gets overloaded—a potentially dangerous situation. Circuit breakers will be found in most houses built after the s or in older buildings that have had their electrical systems upgraded.
Fuses have a thin strip of metal that literally blows when there’s too much electricity flowing through it. When this happens, the fuse needs to be taken out and replaced.
Since the s circuit breakers have been used instead of fuses. They are more convenient, as they just need to be flipped back on if they are tripped. Unlike a fuse, they don’t need to be replaced.
Both circuit breakers and fuses are rated according to how much electricity can flow through them before they trip and shut down the circuit. A 15- or 20-amp fuse is typical for regular light fixtures and such. If the right fuse or circuit breaker isn’t used, it can cause a dangerous situation. Clearly, if a fuse or circuit breaker becomes problematic, an electrician should be called in to look at it.
This is where all the circuits in the house originate from and it’s usually near where the electric power enters the building. It will be filled with circuit breakers (or fuses in an older building). The main panel has a rating that determines the total amount of current that can flow out to the circuits at one time before the main circuit breaker shuts the entire system down.
Most moderately sized older houses have 100 amp service, though a smaller house might only have 60 amp service. Larger new houses are often built with 200 amp service to accommodate all the electronics used these days. If a buyer is thinking of adding on to a house or just modernizing an older house, one consideration will be if the electrical system is big enough to handle the additional electrical requirements. It’s possible to upgrade the main panel to handle more amps. Again, an electrician can give a buyer an idea of how much work this will be in a particular house.
These days most electrical outlets that you see accept three prong plugs. This means, almost always, that the outlet is grounded. A grounding wire, which connects to the round third hole, protects against electric current escaping from the circuit and causing shocks.
Older houses might only have two prong outlets, meaning there’s no grounding protection in the circuits. Upgrading an electrical system to include grounding wires involves opening the walls and can be a significant amount of work. How much work it is depends on the size, construction and layout of the house.
GFI outlets (GFI stands for “ground fault interrupter”) are typically required by building codes when installing an outlet near a water source or a damp location. These are the three prong outlets that have two buttons on them reading “test” and “reset.” Since water and metal handles and spouts conduct electricity, it makes a ground fault particularly dangerous in wet locations such as a bathroom. A ground fault is where the electricity goes astray despite the grounding wire. If this happens the GFI quickly cuts the power. GFI outlets are also called GFCI, or ground fault circuit interrupter.
Knowing how to talk the talk about a listing’s electrical system will help to put a little spark in your sales pitch. The important thing to remember is that for a price, electrical systems can be upgraded and expanded to meet the needs of the buyer as well as building code requirements.
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